SUSI Partners acquires 50% of innovative California-based energy storage portfolio

Zug/Zurich, 1 April, 2019: SUSI Partners acquires a 50% stake of a portfolio of behind-the-meter battery storage systems from Macquarie’s Green Investment Group through SUSI’s dedicated Energy Storage Fund. The projects are located in the Western LA basin in California and have a total capacity of 63MW/340MWh.

SUSI Partners will acquire a 50% stake in a portfolio of lithium-ion battery projects which will be a key enabler for the State of California to reach their target of 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2045. The portfolio was originally developed by AMS, a local developer who will continue to manage and dispatch the assets. The diversified portfolio has a total storage capacity of 340 MWh and comprises over 90 individual battery storage assets, which are substantially contracted for 10 years and are spread across multiple high-load commercial and industrial host sites. The transaction will be funded by the SUSI Energy Storage Fund and marks SUSI Partners’ first investment in the US.

Marco van Daele, CIO at SUSI Partners, states: “This is SUSI’s first investment in the US, one of the most mature markets for energy storage globally. The State of California is formally pursuing a target of 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2045 and is thus one of the trailblazers for the energy transition. We are thrilled with this transaction in light of the role the portfolio has as a critical enabler of California’s long-term energy transition policy and look forward to continue investing in the US market.”

Gustavo Coito, Investment Director at SUSI Partners and Transaction Lead for this investment, elaborates: “This transaction marks an important milestone for us and the SUSI Energy Storage Fund. This sizeable and mostly contracted portfolio is a perfect example of the infrastructure investment opportunities that exist in this market, which we expect will grow further significantly, and reflects SUSI’s core mission of financing the energy transition.”

Rob Kupchak, Macquarie Capital Senior Managing Director and Head Infrastructure & Energy Americas, adds: “The Green Investment Group is focused on investing capital into development and construction of new Green Energy Infrastructure.  As our portfolio reaches a more mature stage with projects entering the operational phase, we are delighted to bring in SUSI as a partner. The portfolio represents a rare opportunity to participate in a distributed storage portfolio of scale, and we look forward to SUSI’s contributions in helping to deliver on AMS’ and our vision of providing an aggregated solution to California’s grid and our customers.”